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A senior judge in the United Kingdom has warned that British society is facing melt-down as a result of the collapse of the traditional family unit. He made the comments during a conference speech in Brighton earlier this month. Mr Justice Sir Paul Coleridge stated that successive governments have neglected the family unit in their policies, and that the breakdown of the family unit now proved as grave a threat to the country as terrorism and global warming. The judge said that an increasing number of children from broken homes were turning to drink, drugs and criminality, and that almost every ill of society can be traced back to the breakdown of the family unit. He added that while not every broken home will produce dysfunctional children, nearly every dysfunctional child is the product of a broken home. He warned that the government must put the family as high on their agenda as the economy and the war on terror, and "make it rather more important than taking oaths of allegiance", a reference to a recent suggestion by the government to try and reform British society.

Quote:"Using apocalyptic language, he spoke of the 'wholesale collapse' of one of the key building blocks of a stable society. He told the lawyers that "in some of the more heavily populated urban areas family life is in meltdown or completely unrecognisable", adding that "the results are affecting the mental health of parents and children across the country... family life in the old sense no longer exists. I suggest the general collapse of ordinary family life, because of the breakdown of families in this country, is on a scale, depth and breadth which few of us could have imagined even a decade ago. What is certain is that almost all of society's social ills can be traced directly to the collapse of the family life.

It seems that the judge has hit the nail on the head, although I reckon he will be hated by the progressive liberals in this country for saying so. A government spokesperson denied there has been any breakdown of family life in the United Kingdom, stating that 70% of families are headed by a married couple. But that statistic is misleading, for although most families may still be headed by a married couple, often the children belonging to these parents are from two or three different relationships. When I was a child in Sunday School, which was around 20 years ago, it was virtually unheard of for a child to come from a broken home. In primary school I only ever remember one boy who's parents were divorced, and I remember thinking this was terrible. The boy in question obviously thought so too, and sometimes he would cry about it. Compare that to just a few years ago, when we only had one girl in our Sunday School whose parents were still together, the rest of the children were from broken homes. Of course some of our dearest children in the Sunday School have come from broken homes. My friend Eddie Hindson once said that it was a miracle that any of them turned out the way they did, with the difficulties they have to deal with at home. I would agree that the government should accept some of the blame for this present situation, but I would say the media must receive the majority of it. It is the media's influence on our young people, and its desensitising to sin, that has undoubtedly contributed to our immoral and ungodly way of life. The Bible says that in the last days "perilous times" would come (2nd Timothy 3:1). Those times are now upon us. It's not easy living in a sinful world. There are so many things to distract even Christians from their walk with the Lord. But it behoves us to follow the wise instructions given by Paul in his letter to the Philippians...

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

If we put Paul's words into practice, that would solve an awful lot of the problems we face today.